House Republican Policy Committee holds workforce development hearing

On Thursday, Pennsylvania Rep. Stephenie Scialabba (R-Butler) held a hearing for the House Republican Policy Committee focusing on workforce development to meet employers’ and consumers’ needs.

The hearing, which was open to the public, was held at the Cranberry Township Municipal Building and featured testimony from Stacy Hepinger, president and CEO of Right at Home; Filippo Lombardo, general manager of Domenico’s Ristorante; Carrie Amann, executive director of the PA Workforce Development Association; and Jeff Nobers, executive director of the Builders Guild of Western PA and Pittsburgh Works Together, among others. Witnesses discussed issues facing employers in attracting and retaining talent, as well as navigating government regulations.

Lombardo said his restaurant business has exhausted every option to bring in new staff to no avail.

“We cannot remain open seven days because it is taxing to the staff we have,” said Lombardo. “The customers are out there, but we just do not have the staff to handle the business. Our family has been in this industry for over 50 years.”

Part of that, Nobers said, was due to a shrinking population. While he said fixing the issue is complex, it requires realistic and consistent regulations and policies, as well as incentives that will encourage people to stay in or relocate to Pennsylvania.

“We continue to lose population across our state,” said Nobers. “We are approaching, if not already at, a crisis level. Two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s counties lost population from 2010 to 2020, a combination of residents moving away and deaths outnumbering births – an issue that especially affects many of our counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Scialabba said that addressing those issues, and others, was key for the state to remain competitive.

“In order for Pennsylvania to be competitive against surrounding states, we must be leaders of innovation,” said Scialabba. “The success of small businesses is a critical component of our economy, and it starts with addressing the workforce shortages plaguing our employers.”